My First Google Play Store App!

Recently I started on a journey... from the comfort of a chair in front of my computer desk. I have a dog - a cute "little" pup, 50+ pounds now (just over a year old), a mix of Weimaraner and Golden Doodle. She loves to run and play and chew everything around her. She is a sweet thing - doesn't even realize her size is potentially hazardous at times - and generally just enjoying life. She often spends time in the back yard , unfortunately a necessity while I'm at work, since she'd otherwise terrorize our cat - in the most loving, friendly way - and chew up everything in the living room. (Our cat is pretty old, almost 17 years, and, much like me, pretty cranky; she doesn't want to have to break in any new members of the family!)

cute "little" pup!

Anyway, our dog generally just runs around chewing up things and chasing dragonflies, but sometimes she wants to alert us to something - like the kids coming home from school. And, sure, one or two warning barks are not a problem, but she's started continuing that "warning" into the "nuisance barking" territory, continuing to bark until someone has responded. So, I was looking for a "dog whistle" app, something that can emit a high-pitched frequency tone to distract and interrupt her "nuisance barking." (Hoping to get this curbed before it becomes a real nuisance.) There are several apps for that on the Google Play Store, but they all either require payment or have ads - including video ads that play about the time you want to tap the "emit tone" button (and also play loudly since you have to have your volume up for the whistle tone to be of any use). Definitely NOT a good user experience.

So, I thought, "Hey, I'm a Software Engineer... let me do my thing!" And voila: My Dog Whistle - available on the google play store! (Unfortunately Android only for the moment.)

As a side note: the app was predominantly coded by AI. I was the designer, QA, etc., but almost all of the code was created by AI. As was that cute icon above, as well as the web page where the app "lives" (aside from the Google Play Store). Maybe I'll expand on this process in a future post, hoping not to give away too many secrets so that you go build your own! ha. According to the play store console, it's been installed in Turkmenistan of all places.

Why this? Because, unlike other dog whistle apps, this one doesn't do any full-screen video ads! It's ready to scream when you are. And, to boot, it has some really handy features, like an adjustable frequency (either in increments of 100 Hz, the default, or you can uncheck that and go in 1 Hz increments), selectable "push to whistle" vs "tap to toggle whistle on/off," and a quick "volume max/reset" icon that allows you to crank your phone's volume all the way up in a single tap, use the whistle, and then reset it back exactly where you had it in a single tap - no fiddling with the volume buttons on your phone, forgetting exactly where you had your volume set, or having to wait while you turn up the volume before you can use the whistle.

cute app icon, yeah?

And did I mention it has ZERO FULL SCREEN VIDEO ADS? On top of everything else, it was a fun foray into the realm of app development, and I have a few more ideas on the way. This one just happens to be first. So go on, download it, give it a try! Surprise your dog, annoy your kids, find out what your upper hearing range is (one friend downloaded and did that, determining exactly how high a frequency he can detect with his ears!), enjoy the ad-free experience (ok, it does have tiny banner ads at the bottom, and so far I've made a whopping two cents from this app!). Enjoy!